


A Tale from the Great Scales Canal

by TNKT



Series: TNKT's AUs for Detroit: Become Human [8]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Drowning, Human Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Human North (Detroit: Become Human), Mind Manipulation, Multi, Oneshot Prompts Challenge, Prompt: Charmed, Whump, as in someone gets charmed into attempting it, but still pretty tragic, i guess it would be in the sixteenth century or something, mentions of suicide kind of, mermaid au, mermaid connor, not set in modern times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22973470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TNKT/pseuds/TNKT
Summary: Markus is a young artist whose inspiration has been lacking. Upon hearing a sailor's tale about a sea monster in the tavern he usually hangs out in with his friends, he decides to depart for the Great Scales Canal in hopes of fuelling his creativity. His partner North quickly figures out his plans and decides to come along, intent on experiencing the thrill of a brand new kind of danger. Both of them should have heeded the warnings.Fanart of Markus and the ~mysterious sea monster~ byAnkad!
Relationships: Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Markus/North (Detroit: Become Human)
Series: TNKT's AUs for Detroit: Become Human [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036425
Comments: 14
Kudos: 57
Collections: Prompt Challenge





	A Tale from the Great Scales Canal

Simon and Josh had told them they really shouldn't go that way. There were safer paths to travel, though longer, that didn't involve such risks as starving, piracy or wreckage. Simon had gone on to list at least a dozen of other ways Markus and North could die if they chose the way of the seafarer. Markus hadn't really listened to as he'd been shoving painting materials in a bag for the trip, and then Josh had asked North to reason with Markus, and North had answered that they all knew there was no one left to reason with once Markus' mind was made up. 

Markus' mind had been made up a week ago.

He'd been hanging out with his friends at the local tavern and a crew of stumbling sailors had come in late in the evening, disheveled and wary as these people always did after long travels. However instead of being rowdy and joyful the way Markus had often heard them when they were finally able to taste beer and good food, this time they were pale and hushed. North had noticed as well, and while the two others carried out their conversation about having lost a gamble during a card game, the couple silently sipped at their mugs and watched the hunched and frightful way these sailors carried themselves. Murmurs reached their ears from the other end of the tavern.

_Monster._

_Blood._

_Horror._

_Beauty._

Amidst this fearful discussion, Markus thought he caught some strange kind of fascination in a few men's tones. Curiosity got the best of him, as always, and he was stepping away from the table before any of the others could reach out and hold him back. He heard North follow him soon after just as he'd half-expected her to, while Josh and Simon looked on from afar in puzzlement.

"Excuse me, fellas," he loudly said as he approached the sailors' table, and the men all turned around to face him. He offered them a genial smile. "I couldn't help but overhear you. You sound like you'd have an interesting story to tell."

It took him a while to coax the tale out of the surly and sober group, and he had to buy them a few rounds before they felt at ease enough to share the details of their unfortunate adventure. One of their crew members had gone overboard during a storm; a common accident, they said, but not this time. They'd gotten to him as he swayed on top of the railing, but when they'd grabbed him he'd started shouting at them to let him go. A few of the sailors visibly paled when the storyteller mentioned having seen a swimming shape in the water.

"Was no fish," he grunted after downing his fourth drink. "Couldn't be. But it was hunting, that's for sure, and our poor Benny, he'd gone crazy. I don't know if it was some sort of sea sickness that got to him, or maybe he knocked his head when we weren't looking, but he kept screaming that there was something beautiful down in the water. There was nothing beautiful, just that monstrous shape."

The man trailed off, and next to Markus, North whispered: "What happened?"

"Slipped," simply said the man, never raising his haunted gaze from the slick surface of the wooden table. "It was storming, the ship was wet. Slipped and fell. Sank like an anchor, didn't even have time to swim back up to the surface before we saw that- that monster's tail whip around and blood foaming all around in the waves."

"What did it look like?" asked Markus, hanging on every word that slipped out of the sailor's craggy bearded mouth.

"Only saw scales. It was night, the colors aren't obvious in the moonlight. Gray, maybe." His brow creased. "That thing wasn't natural. I've known the sea since I was a baby, never in my life I've seen something like that. It made shadows underwater, beneath all that blood, like there was light coming from deep below."

Markus had been fascinated by the story, and even moreso because these men looked like they actually believed what they were saying and were downright terrified by it. His mind was a maelstrom of colors and morbid curiosity for what he knew to be his potential new muse and he took the split-second decision that he needed to see this for himself. His soul had been worryingly devoid of any inspiration for the last month and this was the opportunity he'd been hoping for ; the sailors had only been a few days away from the coast when this had happened, so this creature couldn't be too difficult to find. Even as he'd walked out of the tavern at his friends' side and Josh had disbelievingly listened to North's rendition of the discussion they'd had with the sailors, he couldn't stop thinking of what it would feel like to see such a beast. A leviathan, maybe? They'd said it was large and sinuous, hunting, prowling beneath the water. Markus had often read about leviathans in Carl's books. He was fascinated by the concept of creatures that had equal chances of existing in their reality or solely in their imagination and especially those that lived in the ocean that surrounded his country. Krakens. Whales. Mermaids. Lion-fish. Walruses. Sea serpents. For the longest time Markus had always harbored an interest in sea monsters, and this interest had reared its head up once more after meeting the sailors. At his side, Simon insisted that the men had been drunk, and sailors were well-known for their fantastical tales after all. North had shrugged and answered:

"Well they were pretty darn convincing if you ask me."

Markus made up his mind and started preparing for a trip across the seas two days later. He knew the others wouldn't agree with his departure for something as trivial as a monster hunt so he'd thought up an excuse to convince them his trip would be useful. He pretexted that he'd received a letter from his old mentor saying that he urgently needed to cross the sea to meet one of Carl's acquaintances while they were still somewhat close to Markus' current whereabouts, and it was half the truth because Carl had always encouraged him to travel and meet more masters. North was onto him and it wasn't long before she confronted him about the real reason behind his decision, and when he'd explained to her that in actuality all he wanted to do was to chase the thrill of the unknown and dangerous, she'd understood him and insisted to come along. They'd seen depictions of the wide canal as they sought out itineraries to the area they wanted to explore: heavy black skies, tumultuous waves, and the unsettling sighting of wide shadows beneath the surface. They heard more rumors that monsters lived there and Markus felt the thrill of fear and anticipation build beneath his skin as they approached the day they would leave the town.

North had scoffed when he'd explained that travelling this path would undoubtedly fuel his creativity in a new direction, just like he'd expected her to. North came from the backwards streets that ran with spilled beer and a patron's raucous shouts and she often interpreted his rants about art like she would any rich and privileged boy's boring monologues. His paintings were too abstract for her, too senseless, and as close as they were she often got annoyed by his more fanciful tastes. However, Markus could tell from the dark glint in her eyes as she eyed the maps that she also was interested in the Great Scales Canal; North was the kind of person who always ended up where danger was, and whether it was out of curiosity or chance Markus could never tell. North didn't care for the paintings or the inspiration, but she thrived on risky gambles and dark alley scuffles. She was always finding a way to conquer fear and that meant throwing herself at any dangerous situation she could come across. Simon said she was too rash, Josh said she was self-destructive. Markus could never decide if he found her courageous or utterly insane, but ultimately it didn't really matter. He loved her the way she was.

Simon and Josh came to say goodbye as they climbed aboard the ship, wishing them luck and very emphatically asking them not to get into any kind of trouble. They weren't many to board on the Anemena ship, about twelve travellers, and the crew was of the muttering kind. North and Markus received a fair amount of side-eyeing, not that they were unused to it; their couple was frowned upon and on top of that North always wore breaches. It ruffled quite a few feathers that a woman as beautiful as her would choose clothes so rustic, not to mention a partner like Markus. Even being allowed to drink at the tavern hadn't been an easy feat when Markus had first arrived in the small town. 

The captain promptly warned them that the trip would be dangerous. "I'll say it anyways, just like I always do: don't go out on the deck when the waters grow dark. There's fearful creatures down there. I warned you, so don't any of you curse my ship if someone goes overboard."

His warnings only served to whet both Markus and North's excitement. The ship left the harbour and they watched as their friends and home slowly receded. The rocking of the boat wasn't comfortable; Markus had only been on one four times in his life and North none at all. She was sick in the beginning, but she recovered fast and was soon walking around the deck with more ease than Markus. He was very admirative of her nearly at all times and to see her adapt so quickly to something so entirely new made him even more impressed. North didn't fail to notice this and her smile was radiant when she did, though teasing. They soon discovered that going out on the deck at night when the moon was bright was something they enjoyed doing very much. During the day, North liked to seek the shapes of fish in the water while Markus painted the crew members while they worked, and sometimes North would join them and ask them to teach her the basics of sailing. She also kicked some guy's ass two days into the trip and threatened to throw him to the sharks if he dared try to touch her again, while the rest of the crew laughed at the red-faced pervert. Markus warned him the very same day that he'd help her go through with her very serious threat if something like this happened again. The sailor had laughed in his face and cuffed him in the head, leaving Markus standing behind with a smarting ear. Markus just sighed. He was used to people not taking him seriously and he knew what he was capable of.

They hadn't caught a glimpse of the creature five days in and although North seemed to be enjoying herself quite a lot leading the life of a sailor, Markus was horribly bored. He'd tired of painting the crew members and the sea which was never changing and he dearly hoped something would change soon. North came up to tease him a few times, commenting on how every painting looked like a replica of another, Markus annoyedly answering it wasn't his fault when he was limited to only a few subjects for days and didn't even feel that interested by them.

"You're the one who wanted to come out here in the first place," she pointed out.

He looked up at her and squinted at the sun that hovered in the sky just above her head, making her red hair spark beneath the bright light. Markus reached out to hold her hand and affectionately said. "Well, I'm glad the trip is worth it for at least one of us."

She smiled at him. "Maybe it would be worth it for you too if you left your easel for a minute. The cook's a nice guy, you like cooking, why don't you try and hang out with him? I'm sure you could learn a thing or two."

Markus shook his head. "I don't want to miss it if it shows up."

"You know, maybe it's only nocturnal. They did say it showed up at night."

"What if it isn't?"

She shrugged. "I'm not the one who can tell you."

Eventually she left after giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and Markus forced himself to focus on the painting. Time crawled by at a snail's pace and he kept stopping to stand up and look over the railings into the water. It was later that afternoon when the wind suddenly picked up and the clouds grew heavy and menacing, and Markus could feel that even the air had changed when he breathed, thicker, tenser. The crew said there'd be a storm and told them to get inside. Markus, of course, didn't. For once things were shifting around him and he wanted to stay outside to experience the storm in the middle of the sea. He just hurried to put his things in the safety of the small but dry room he shared with North and two other travellers and then went back to his earlier spot. North joined him up on the deck and when the sailors couldn't convince them to go below deck, they eventually gave them the means to secure themselves to the ship in case things got dangerous. North knew how to handle that kind of thing by now and they trusted her to know how to keep both herself and Markus out of trouble. 

The skies became dark at an impressively fast rate and soon it was like night had fallen over the ship. Markus and North spent the evening gazing at the roiling sea and lost the concept of time when everything seemed to meld together around them in one single dark hour. They were standing at first, and then they sat down on the wet deck even when it started raining and the wind howled all around them. They'd never experienced something so primally powerful and violent. The storm hadn't quite reached a peak yet when North decided they needed to go back inside, and this time Markus agreed. He felt too small and too light when he stood up and the wind buffeted both of them, and he had to catch North who nearly tripped over from the force of it. They made their way down to the rooms and dried themselves before going into their own and laying down to rest. Markus and North fell asleep in each other's arms despite the cramped space, cold and humid skin progressively warming beneath their bedsheets as they listened to their synchronized heartbeat.

Markus woke up some time in the middle of the night. The rain was pattering above his head now, not pelting the wooden structure of the boat, though the rocking hadn't really slowed. Markus decided to go outside and he untangled himself from North, kissing her on the forehead when she stirred and let out a questioning sound.

"I'm just going out for a few minutes, the storm's calmed down a little."

"Be careful", she murmured. Then she was asleep again.

Markus unthinkingly thrust a hand beneath their cot to retrieve his things and made his way outside, muzzily wondering if he'd manage to somehow keep his easel dry while he painted this stormy night. He took the necessary equipment he and North had used before so as not to get thrown overboard and walked around to seek a sheltered spot on the deck, his free hand tightly holding onto the railing that circled the center of the ship. He finally found an ideal overhang and stepped out of the rain to set up his easel and paints and brushes, and just as he was looking around to secure himself to the closest fixture, Markus' attention was drawn by an unusual sight. He blinked, and frowned, and squinted, wondering if he just wasn't fully awake- but no, it wasn't his imagination. There was some sort of strange shine floating at the surface of the waves, bluer than a moon's reflection if the moon had been hanging in the sky tonight. Markus took two steps closer while steadying himself along the wall of the ship, and then gripped the outer railing to stare harder at the anomalous light. His eyes widened when he realized that the light was moving and that it _wasn't_ floating on the surface. The water swelled in inky tumescence. Markus suddenly felt a rush of pure, primal fear when he made out a long form slithering beneath the waves. It wasn't in the shape of any animal he'd ever heard or read about, and although smaller than the leviathan he'd imagined so many times before, the creature's lazy movements were unmistakably predatory. Markus pushed himself away from the railing and stumbled back, his breath suddenly short, knocking over the easel and crushing pigments beneath his feet in his haste to escape. Alone, he felt much less confident facing the beast he'd wished to meet. He only took a few running steps before he felt the foreboding certainty that a huge, dark maw was opening up at his back like he was prey about to be torn apart.

Just as suddenly as the terrifying thought struck him, Markus heard a distant ethereal tune ring out around him and he realized he didn't need to run. He didn't need to be afraid, he didn't need to leave. The melody was akin to a soothing voice and Markus understood the words that were spoken even though it was in no language he'd heard before. Markus turned back around and walked back the way he'd come from, stepped on the broken easel and over the ruined paints again. The notes were soft. Pure luminescence danced at the edges of his field of vision. He felt that he was drifting with it, his step light and inhesitant as something enticed him to venture further out on the deck until he reached the railing. There he leaned against the cold, humid wood and gazed into the depths. The same shape as earlier was still tracing slow, curving patterns at the hull of the ship, closer to the surface than before. He could see the occasional glint of a gunmetal scale in the bluish light and he was a bit perplexed when he made out the shape at the creature's head. Markus frowned, a faraway thought pushing at the back of his mind, but the tune grew louder and drowned out whatever it was. He knew, somehow, that the insubstantial voice came from this being. The long tail rippled in the water, a flash of silvery blue gently breaking the surface. The voice was telling him to come closer. _Closer._

Markus grabbed the railing and settled a foot on the lower rung to push himself up. The waves swayed in the same hypnotizing pattern as the swimming shape did. Markus hesitated. He remembered he'd been warned about going overboard, and North was waiting for him inside. Was this really the best way to come closer?

 _Yes,_ the alluring voice told him, though he heard no sounds of vowels or consonants. _Into the water. Come closer._

Markus wanted to obey. Whatever he'd been thinking about didn't matter, he wanted to come closer. His grip tightened around the wooden railing and he lifted a leg over to the other side, and felt the voice's soft encouragment. It was proud of him. He was making it happy. Markus smiled and shifted the rest of his body on the outside of the railing, and he steadied himself there. The waves were so far down, and his body instinctively knew he needed to hold on and not let go; but Markus wanted to fight the way his fingers clenched so tightly to safety. What safety? It would be so much nicer down in the depths. The voice agreed with him, promising him sweet and wonderful things if he only dived into the water to join it. It would only take a second. It would only take letting go.

"Markus!" cried out a familiar voice.

 _Jump,_ the voice tenderly ordered him. _Or it will be too late._

Markus didn't want to miss this chance. He let go.

" _Markus!_ " 

His body tipped forwards and was suspended in the air for one single, destined moment.

It was shattered by the strong hand that gripped his collar and pulled him back. Markus' throat was crushed and convulsed when his feet slipped, and his hands lashed out to grab at the thing they'd last held onto. He crashed against the railing where pain shot through his ribs. It was cold, the wind was blowing. 

"You _idiot!_ " screamed a woman in his ear. An arm slipped around his chest and Markus felt himself get hoisted up and tipped over the beam. He landed in a heap with another body, his head hitting the planks with a resounding thud.

"Ow!"

Hands grabbed him by the shoulders and suddenly he was facing an irate North, her red hair whipping around them in a rain-slicked whirlwind, her eyes lit up by wild fear and anger, a snarl twisting her pretty lips.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?!" 

Markus belatedly realized that rain was pelting his face. His clothes were soaked, he was shivering. Worst of all, the tune was gone. He couldn't hear it anymore. Markus twisted out of her grip and avoided her outstretched hand when he went to throw himself at the railing again, desperately seeking out the shape. It was gone.

"No!" he yelled frantically. "No, come back!"

The waves crashed mercilessly against the ship, not a single trace of silver amidst them. It was only the huge and uniformous mass of dark, dark waters. 

"Get _back here_ , you moron!"

North wrapped her arms around him and tugged him away from the side of the boat, and they clumsily struggled until Markus' shoe slipped on the wet surface of the floor and he tripped again. North stumbled after him and landed on top of him, her hands pinning his shoulders to the planks. Her eyes were wide in panic.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled.

"Let me go!" he shouted in her face. "I have to jump, I have to go with it!"

"What are you _talking about?_ "

Markus could feel a yawning chasm in his chest where his heart had once been filled only seconds ago. The voice had been beautiful, it was everything he'd never known he needed, it was everything he'd never known he could miss so deeply. It cut into him, the absence of that melody. Markus then understood what the voice had meant: if he didn't jump, he'd be forced to live with this terrible emptiness forever. It was too late now. The voice was gone. Markus felt a despair the likes of which he'd never felt before suddenly engulf him.

"Markus?" North looked horrified and terribly lost all of a sudden. "What's wrong? Why are you- Oh, God, _please_ tell me you weren't actually thinking of killing yourself."

Markus felt warmth trickle down his face, mingling with the cold wetness that was already there and turning into freezing trails in the whistling wind. He was crying. It was why North looked so distraught. 

"You stopped me," he whispered in anguish. " _Why_ did you stop me?"

"You were going to jump!" she yelled at him. "What was I supposed to do?"

"You should've let me jump," Markus said, but a sob cut off the last word. It hurt, it hurt so much. He'd known true happiness and it had been ripped away from him in moments. 

"No!" she shouted in horror. "What's _wrong_ with you?! Markus, how could you- How could you say that to _me_ of all people? You were going to leave me all alone, you were going to-" Her face crumpled and tears sprang forth in her eyes. "I _love_ you! I love you and you were going to throw yourself off the ship and you didn't even _tell me you wanted to die!_ "

"You don't understand," Markus quietly said. "You don't understand."

"What don't I understand? _What?_ " cried North, her hands fisting his collar.

"I was going to be happy," he told her. "You took that from me."

North let out a shaky, incredulous: "What?" 

"It loves me," slowly said Markus at the same time he understood the truth of his words. "And I love it. We need each other."

North's features were slack in utter confusion. She didn't look like she even knew what to say anymore. Markus' fingers curled around her wrist and he repeated: "We need each other."

"What..." North's voice has been reduced to a murmur. "What happened to you out here? Who's ' _we_ '?"

"You didn't hear it?" Markus asked her. "The voice." She didn't react, so Markus continued talking. "Didn't you see the shape in the water? Its scales were like metal. They shone so prettily. You should've seen it, North. And the voice, if only you'd heard the voice, you would've understood. I know you would have."

"You sound crazy, Markus. You sound utterly insane." North didn't sound as sharp as she usually would've saying those words and her eyes were full of grief. "I don't understand any of what you're saying. Tell me this is a joke."

"You would, if you'd heard it." Markus turned his head to the railing and gazed longingly at the black waves. "If only you'd heard it."

"I think we should get back inside. You're freezing, Markus. We'll talk more once you're warm."

Markus didn't answer. His heart ached and throbbed and he felt like he was dying every second he spent longer without hearing the voice. Surely he hadn't been abandoned like this. Surely the shape wasn't far. It had been so kind to him, so reassuring, and Markus knew that the tether that had formed between them was something no other mortal could ever experience. It couldn't be over like this. He looked back at North, at his beautiful, wretched companion, and he knew the sight of her so incredibly distressed should have hurt him; but it somehow didn't feel like his heart quite belonged to her anymore. He felt nothing but the all-encompassing despair of having been left behind.

She let go of his collar and wiped at her own tears, then got back to her feet and held out her hand. "Come with me, Markus."

He pushed himself up on his elbows and hesitated, his gaze flickering out to the sea once more.

"Please," she implored him, her voice breaking on that single, sad word.

It would have been enough to make him leap back to his feet and hug her for days, before. But Markus' chest felt flayed from the inside and it was her fault. It was North's fault that he couldn't obey the voice's calling.

"Leave," he quietly told her.

"Markus, no," she sobbed, and her outstretched arm sagged slightly. "Don't do this."

"I said, leave."

"Please," she begged him. "Please don't do this to me."

Markus pushed himself back up and faced her, and he felt just as agonized as she looked. She'd wrapped both of her arms around herself now. Her face was pale and glistening in the clouded moonlight and her lips were trembling. They were only inches apart.

"You have to leave, North. You can't understand what you did," Markus told her.

"I'll try, I promise I'll try!" she cried out, her voice tossed about by the gales. "I'm sorry!"

She was apologizing and yet she didn't even truly know why. Desperate, just like Markus, because she knew she was going to be left behind. Markus didn't really know if leaving her would be enough for the voice to come back, but he hoped. He hoped dearly. If his hope was strong enough, maybe the voice would perceive it. Markus took a step back.

"No," she choked out, but when she reached out Markus avoided her touch.

"If I go, maybe it will come back."

"I never heard or saw anything! Markus, it's not real! You're imagining things, please, listen to me!" North spun around and screamed in the direction of the deck: "Help! Help! Someone's going to jump!"

She sounded so sure of herself, but Markus knew what was true. He hadn't imagined any of it. As he took another step back, he felt a light, warm thrum in his diaphragm. This was the only path he could take if he was to hear that beloved voice again. The waves would embrace him and eventually, he would be found.

Markus continued talking as he got closer to the railing. "No, North. This is real. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to hear it too, and then you'll see what love truly is. I'm sorry you can't grasp any of this right now, but believe me, this is the only way."

"It's not, it's not!" She stepped forward, reaching out for him again. "You don't have to die, Markus, we can find help, I can _help you!_ "

"I'm not going to die," Markus said, his voice strong with faith. The sea was beckoning, and although there was no song to guide him anymore, he felt that he would be able to find it himself. The sea would help him.

"You're going to jump in the _freezing sea!_ " she yelled hysterically, taking another step forward, but she stopped when she saw him back up. "You'll _die_ , Markus!" Again, she turned to the deck. "Help!"

"It's all right, North," Markus told her gently, and he got up on the railing for the second time that night as a few crew members climbed out on the deck. "It's all right, I promise."

"No, no!" North lunged towards him wildly with an outstretched hand and terrified eyes, but this time Markus knew to avoid her strong grip. Nothing and no one would stop him from feeling that love again. 

The last thing Markus saw in his fall was the horror on North's face as the crew grabbed her and pulled her back, and he heard her anguished wail rip through the storm before it cut off when he hit the water. The dark surface closed over his head and the cold stole his breath away, his lungs seizing up in his chest, his heart stuttering, his entire body struck with the physical shock of temperature change. For a moment, Markus drifted down completely unmoving. He couldn't think. A swarm of bubbles escaped him before he had the time to hold them back and his head was encased in an unforgiving vise as he fell deeper down in the endless depths. He could see the moon dancing across the ever-shifting mirror of waves, the outline of the ship, the shadow it was projecting across him. Markus was rocked by the currents and his chest started to burn, and still he wasn't afraid. He wasn't going to die. He was just very, very cold. It didn't matter that he couldn't move, he didn't need to. The surface was getting further and further away and Markus physically hurt, but he didn't struggle. He'd come down here for one thing, one very important thing, the only thing that mattered, and he knew the only chance he had of reaching it was by surrendering himself to the sea. Markus couldn't breathe, pressure built on and within his chest. It hurt. His body was numb from the cold and yet it hurt. Everything was sharper and it _hurt_. Markus held on. He couldn't have been abandoned, not when the voice had expressed such care for him, not when it was somewhere within these depths. 

And then, a vibrant melody rose from far away and everywhere at once, deeper and richer than it had been above the sea. Markus smiled as it wrapped around him like a warm embrace, warmer than a fleece blanket around his and North's shoulders while they sat in front of a crackling fire. He saw a great, fluid shape flicker at the edge of his vision and his heart soared. Even in the cold waters, even as his body was slowly dying, Markus felt his eyes ache with tears of relief that mingled with the salt of the sea. He hadn't been left behind.

 _Never,_ sang the voice.

The long, gunmetal tail sailed above his head and he tried to make out more of the creature's features in the dark, but its body was longer than Markus had thought. It was difficult to make out where it began and where it ended when it was up so close. Finally, a soft blue glow caught his eye and he saw that it was coming closer, illuminating his slowly dimming vision. It was the shape of a human torso he'd seen earlier, and Markus was fascinated as it languidly came closer in graceful undulations. Mermaid, his failing mind finally whispered to him. They're real.

He could see the finer details of the creature the voice belonged to, and elation bubbled up in his chest and relieved a bit of the pressure that was threatening to cave his ribcage in. The soft glow was emanating from the flowing fins that sprouted from the strong curve of the creature's tail, and from the delicate membranes that adorned the flanks and arms of its pale chest.

Merman, Markus corrected his mind. 

When he finally saw the face of his beloved in the gentle light, Markus found himself mesmerized. He was dying, but he'd never felt more alive knowing he'd been gifted the splendid sight of his soul mate. The dark eyes studied him intently and the merman cocked its head curiously, then circled around Markus once. Twice. It stopped swimming to face him and reached out to the side of his face, webbed fingers touching his cheekbone just below his glass eye and then drifting to his paint-laden clothes.

 _You're different,_ it said, but the white lips didn't move.

Markus' vision was dimming now. He wanted to answer, but he was too weak to do anything other than gaze at the merman. His lovely, graceful half, the one he'd never known he was to meet out in these deep waters. The merman's sharp features harboured some kind of regretful expression, the soft curve of his lips unhappy. Markus felt a pang of fear; had he disappointed him somehow? He wanted to apologize. 

_Settle, lodman._

The merman's body rippled into action once more and his tail circled around Markus a third time, and when the merman reappeared in front of him his expression was thoughtful.

_You are a curious prey. I think I won't eat you just yet._

Markus Manfred was declared missing at sea when the Anemena finally docked a few days later.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey pumpkin!
> 
> This is a oneshot I wrote with the prompt "Charmed".  
> Markus' fate is open-ended; I have an idea for a fic and I need him alive for it! Don't know how he'd survive that dip in icy waters but hey, if I get around to writing it, we'll know then. Poor North is convinced that he's dead by the time the Anemena docks, but that can change.  
> Connor isn't actually Markus' soul mate, that's just the charm and the hypothermia scrambling the poor man's brains.  
> I wondered how mermaids would call people living on land and apparently mer comes from old English for bodies of water, so I thought I'd use the old English for land, and tada, lodman.  
> And, yes. Mermaids are telepathic okay
> 
> Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you feel like it!
> 
> Fanart of Markus and Connor by [Ankad!](https://mobile.twitter.com/skifshi/status/1258467015032999948)
> 
> * * *
> 
> Come by and say hi on [Tumblr](https://lost-tanuki.tumblr.com/post/184765301043/dbh-fics) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/losttanuki)!  
> You can also pm me on Tumblr/Twitter to join the Pumpkin Patch server on Discord. I'm looking forward to seeing you there!


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